An insight into the status of the striped dolphins, Stenella coeruleoalba, of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 1321-1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Maria Fortuna ◽  
Simonepietro Canese ◽  
Michela Giusti ◽  
Eletta Revelli ◽  
Pierpaolo Consoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Line Transect ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
Striped Dolphin ◽  
The Status ◽  
Southern Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
By Catch ◽  
Aeolian Archipelago ◽  
Insight Into

Drift-nets are known to result in high incidental catches of some cetacean species. Despite a UN moratorium on their use in the high seas and a ban in the Mediterranean by all European Union countries, including Italy (EC Reg. 1239/98), some fisheries continue to operate illegally. In 2002 and 2003 three line-transect surveys were conducted in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea around the Aeolian archipelago. These transects were designed to assess the presence, distribution and population size of cetacean species likely to be affected by accidental captures in this area. Data were only sufficient to estimate abundance for the striped dolphin. The best estimate (and first such estimate for this area) was 4030 individuals (CV=0.30, 95% CI=2239–7253) for May 2003. A rough estimate of striped dolphin by-catch, based on floating carcases, was calculated as 36 by-caught animals over a period of 12 days (CV=0.58, 95% CI=11–113). These results, although approximate, are a cause for concern. Conservation and management implications of the results are discussed.

scholarly journals Summer Distribution, Relative Abundance and Encounter Rates of Cetaceans in the Mediterranean Waters off Southern Italy (Western Ionian Sea and Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 613 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. SANTORO ◽  
E. SPERONE ◽  
M. L. TRINGALI ◽  
G. PELLEGRINO ◽  
G. GIGLIO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Physeter Macrocephalus ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Steno Bredanensis

In summer 2010 and summer 2011, weekly cetacean surveys were undertaken in “passing mode”, using ferries as platform of opportunity, along the “fixed line transect” between Catania and Civitavecchia (Southern Italy). Of the 20 species of cetaceans confirmed for the Mediterranean sea, 8 were sighted within the survey period: 7 species represented by Mediterranean subpopulations (Balaenoptera physalus, Physeter macrocephalus, Stenella coeruleoalba, Delphinus delphis, Grampus griseus, Tursiops truncatus and Ziphius cavirostris) and one considered visitor (Steno bredanensis). We had a total of 220 sightings during the 2010 and a total of 240 sightings in the 2011. The most frequent species was S. coeruleoalba. By the comparison of the data from the two sampling seasons, a significant increase of D. delphis sightings and a decrease of sightings of B. physalus and P. macrocephalus was observed from 2010 to 2011. While all the other species were observed in both sampling seasons, Z. cavirostris and Steno bredanensis were observed only during 2011. The presence of mixed groups of odontocetes was documented too: we sighted groups composed by S. coeruleoalba and D. delphis, by S. coeruleoalba and T. truncatus, and by S. coeruleoalba and G. griseus. The results of this research add useful information on cetacean species in a very poorly known area and highlight the need to standardize large scale and long term monitoring programs in order to detect variation in presence, abundance and distribution of cetaceans populations and understand the effect of anthropogenic factors.

scholarly journals First human-caused extinction of a cetacean species?

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 537-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel T Turvey ◽  
Robert L Pitman ◽  
Barbara L Taylor ◽  
Jay Barlow ◽  
Tomonari Akamatsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yangtze River ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
River System ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
The Status ◽  
Global Extinction ◽  
By Catch ◽  
Neophocaena Phocaenoides Asiaeorientalis ◽  
Historical Range

The Yangtze River dolphin or baiji ( Lipotes vexillifer ), an obligate freshwater odontocete known only from the middle-lower Yangtze River system and neighbouring Qiantang River in eastern China, has long been recognized as one of the world's rarest and most threatened mammal species. The status of the baiji has not been investigated since the late 1990s, when the surviving population was estimated to be as low as 13 individuals. An intensive six-week multi-vessel visual and acoustic survey carried out in November–December 2006, covering the entire historical range of the baiji in the main Yangtze channel, failed to find any evidence that the species survives. We are forced to conclude that the baiji is now likely to be extinct, probably due to unsustainable by-catch in local fisheries. This represents the first global extinction of a large vertebrate for over 50 years, only the fourth disappearance of an entire mammal family since AD 1500, and the first cetacean species to be driven to extinction by human activity. Immediate and extreme measures may be necessary to prevent the extinction of other endangered cetaceans, including the sympatric Yangtze finless porpoise ( Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis ).

scholarly journals A Newly Discovered Forest of the Whip Coral Viminella flagellum (Anthozoa, Alcyonacea) in the Mediterranean Sea: A Non-Invasive Method to Assess Its Population Structure

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Giovanni Chimienti ◽  
Ricardo Aguilar ◽  
Michela Maiorca ◽  
Francesco Mastrototaro
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
The Status ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Population Structures ◽  
Invasive Method ◽  
Southern Tyrrhenian Sea

Coral forests are vulnerable marine ecosystems formed by arborescent corals (e.g., Anthozoa of the orders Alcyonacea and Antipatharia). The population structure of the habitat-forming corals can inform on the status of the habitat, representing an essential aspect to monitor. Most Mediterranean corals live in the mesophotic and aphotic zones, and their population structures can be assessed by analyzing images collected by underwater vehicles. This is still not possible in whip-like corals, whose colony lengths and flexibilities impede the taking of direct length measurements from images. This study reports on the occurrence of a monospecific forest, of the whip coral Viminella flagellum in the Aeolian Archipelago (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea; 149 m depth), and the assessment of its population structure through an ad-hoc, non-invasive method to estimate a colony height based on its width. The forest of V. flagellum showed a mean density of 19.4 ± 0.2 colonies m−2 (up to 44.8 colonies m−2) and no signs of anthropogenic impacts. The population was dominated by young colonies, with the presence of large adults and active recruitment. The new model proved to be effective for non-invasive monitoring of this near threatened species, representing a needed step towards appropriate conservation actions.

Stomach contents of by-caught striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 869-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayhan Dede ◽  
Alp Salman ◽  
Arda M. Tonay
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Striped Dolphin ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Bony Fishes ◽  
By Catch ◽  
First Time

Stomach contents of six striped dolphins taken as by-catch in the swordfish fishery in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off the Turkish coast were examined. In total, 29 taxa were identified to species or family and 1777 individual food items (1394 bony fishes, 289 cephalopods, 94 crustaceans) were counted.Diaphusspp. andCeratoscopelus maderensiswere the most remarkable ones, as they accounted for 70.45% of the total number of fishes.Onychoteuthis banksii, on the other hand, was the only cephalopod species found in all stomach content analyses and represented 38.06% of the total number of cephalopods. Bony fish species:Myctophum punctatum, Notoscopelus elongatus, Electrona risso, Sudis hyalina,Moridae sp., Phycidae sp., Sternoptychidae sp. and cephalopods:Pterygioteuthis giardiandChtenopteryx siculawere reported the first time in the stomach contents of striped dolphin in the Mediterranean Sea.

Influence of environmental factors on small cetacean distribution in the Spanish Mediterranean

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 1185-1192 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Gómez de Segura ◽  
P.S. Hammond ◽  
J.A. Raga
Keyword(s):  
Linear Models ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Chlorophyll Concentration ◽  
Spatial Models ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
Striped Dolphin ◽  
Environmental Features ◽  
Risso's Dolphin

Habitat distribution models are one of the most up to date methods to study the habitat usage of wildlife populations. They allow animal distribution to be related to environmental features and also the prediction of the distribution of animals based on this relationship. Seasonal aerial surveys were conducted in central Spanish Mediterranean waters from June 2000 to March 2003 to obtain information on the distribution of cetacean species. Data from the three most common cetacean species (striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, and Risso's dolphin, Grampus griseus) were related, using generalized linear models, to local environmental features: depth, slope, sea surface temperature and chlorophyll concentration. For bottlenose dolphins, no significant relationship was found with any covariate and no dolphins were observed in waters greater than 1000 m. The distribution of both striped and Risso's dolphin was significantly related to depth. The striped dolphin showed a preference for waters between 900 and 1500 m deep and Risso's dolphin for waters more than 1500 m deep. In addition, for the latest two species, maps of distribution were predicted by means of the spatial models. The areas of higher probabilities of occurrence coincide to a large extent with the marine protected areas previously proposed for the conservation of oceanic cetacean species.

scholarly journals Should I stay or should I go? 6000 years of human presence and abandonments at Stromboli volcano and an overview on the whole Aeolian Archipelago (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. VO545
Author(s):  
Andrea Di Renzoni ◽  
Sara Tiziana Levi ◽  
Alberto Renzulli ◽  
Mauro Rosi ◽  
David Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Active Volcano ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Stromboli Volcano ◽  
Human Presence ◽  
Northern Edge ◽  
Southern Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Human Attitude ◽  
Aeolian Archipelago

T   The paper addresses the long-lasting human presence on the island of Stromboli, an active volcano at the northern edge of the Aeolian archipelago, in the Southern Tyrrhenian sea, Italy. A conceptual model has been built to explore the phenomenon, it takes into account a series of aspects comparing Stromboli to other islands: their morphology, natural resources and geography along with the archaeological and historical data and, further, human attitude to volcanic environments, to risk and to insularity has been deeply explored. We propose a complex narrative where a combination of geological, socio-economic, historical, and psychological factors influenced people’s choices and that human presence is related more to the volcanic (and island) environment (and opportunities) than to volcanic activity.

Marine mammals are natural hosts of Oceanivirga salmonicida, a bacterial pathogen of Atlantic salmon

2020 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 161-174
Author(s):  
R Palmer ◽  
GTA Fleming ◽  
S Glaeser ◽  
T Semmler ◽  
A Flamm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
16S Rrna Gene ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Bacterial Disease ◽  
Common Dolphin ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
Striped Dolphin ◽  
Natural Hosts

During 1992 and 1993, a bacterial disease occurred in a seawater Atlantic salmon Salmo salar farm, causing serious mortalities. The causative agent was subsequently named as Oceanivirga salmonicida, a member of the Leptotrichiaceae. Searches of 16S rRNA gene sequence databases have shown sequence similarities between O. salmonicida and uncultured bacterial clones from the digestive tracts of marine mammals. In the current study, oral samples were taken from stranded dolphins (common dolphin Delphinus delphis, striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba) and healthy harbour seals Phoca vitulina. A bacterium with growth characteristics consistent with O. salmonicida was isolated from a common dolphin. The isolate was confirmed as O. salmonicida, by comparisons to the type strain, using 16S rRNA gene, gyrB, groEL, and recA sequence analyses, average nucleotide identity analysis, and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Metagenomic analysis indicated that the genus Oceanivirga represented a significant component of the oral bacterial microbiomes of the dolphins and seals. However, sequences consistent with O. salmonicida were only found in the dolphin samples. Analyses of marine mammal microbiome studies in the NCBI databases showed sequences consistent with O. salmonicida from the common dolphin, striped dolphin, bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus, humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae, and harbour seal. Sequences from marine environmental studies in the NCBI databases showed no sequences consistent with O. salmonicida. The findings suggest that several species of marine mammals are natural hosts of O. salmonicida.

A famine in Surat in 1631 and Dodos on Mauritius: a long lost manuscript rediscovered

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Winters ◽  
J. P. Hume ◽  
M. Leenstra
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
East India Company ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
Dutch East India Company ◽  
The Status ◽  
Insight Into

In 1887 Dutch archivist A. J. Servaas van Rooijen published a transcript of a hand-written copy of an anonymous missive or letter, dated 1631, about a horrific famine and epidemic in Surat, India, and also an important description of the fauna of Mauritius. The missive may have been written by a lawyer acting on behalf of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). It not only gives details about the famine, but also provides a unique insight into the status of endemic and introduced Mauritius species, at a time when the island was mostly uninhabited and used only as a replenishment station by visiting ships. Reports from this period are very rare. Unfortunately, Servaas van Rooijen failed to mention the location of the missive, so its whereabouts remained unknown; as a result, it has only been available as a secondary source. Our recent rediscovery of the original hand-written copy provides details about the events that took place in Surat and Mauritius in 1631–1632. A full English translation of the missive is appended.

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